Outdoor Trainer

Hey, is that you sweating up a storm on the treadmill? That’s fine if you just want to keep the pounds off and maintain an average level of fitness, but if you want to get truly fit and kick butt at your favorite sports, you’ll need more. Athletic training, serious athletic training—requires rigorous and disciplined physical and mental preparation.

Imagine this, it’s early morning and you are stepping lightly over grass and fallen leaves, your feet sinking into the softness underfoot. Thoughts of the coming day enter your mind—you let them pass. Feeling through your feet, the ground seems to be talking to you. Completely focused, you feel the muscles down the entire length of your legs flex and release as you move. The tightness in your hips and aches in your knees have melted away. Your skin begins to break a light sweat as your pace increases. Your body feels alive with adrenalin, endorphins, and energy.

Starting position: Stand with your back to a tree that’s a few feet away. Keeping your hips squared with your shoulders, extend your arms overhead and lift your left leg off the ground and reaching back for the tree’s surface.

What's the Best Method to Get Fit Fast?
A friend of mine is on a mission - a mission to lose weight for an upcoming date. The date is a trip to Mexico, where she'll be sporting her new bikini, in front of her new Beau. Her mission is intense and has included up to two hours per day of long, slow "fat burning" running. That is, until she injured herself and her Achilles tendon from overuse.

Question: What's the fasted and smartest way to get fit and lose weight?

It's summer!! To celebrate I went on hike with a friend thru Muir Woods. If you are not familiar with this national monument, it is famous for its giant redwoods and as John Muir famously said himself, "This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world." Hiking to and thru the park is so overwhelmingly beautiful, however, there are precautions that must be make. The hillsides are laced with poison oak. If you're not aware a wonderous day could be followed by 10-14 days of misery.

One of my favorite workouts is what I call "terrain training." Terrain training is simply taking advantage of whatever type of terrain you have and using it to your advantage. So for example, in the mountains, I like to make my way up a hill and use the downhill to slalom the pine trees (and sliding on their needles) to mimic skiing. Or using a dry riverbed for intense drills, by loading my legs and springing boulder-to-boulder. Other types of terrain training can involve grassy knolls, urban steps and sandy beaches. This is the first post in a series about terrain training - how to scout it, how to create workouts for maximum benefits, and how to keep it safe.

Given that we are Outdoor Enthusiasts, I thought you might find this Website by the Environmental Working Group (a non-profit consumer advocacy group), interesting.

I found out that of the sunscreens that I've been using, one should "be avoided" due to health concerns (Neutrogena SPF 55); and the other made it to the "Hall of Shame" b/c it doesn't block the UVA rays that can cause skin cancer (Banana Boat Baby -- I thought b/c it was for babies, it would be gentle!).

It’s the first nice day in more than a week. After days and days of rain, people on the street seem to be less stressed — smiling more, interacting more, and making eye contact. What is it about being outdoors—especially on a nice day?

There’s Power Out There!
Mounting research shows the profound effect that fresh air, plants, trees and natural outdoor elements have on our health and well-being.